Moldova to receive over 18 million dollars to develop agricultural sector

Chisinau, 12 April /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova will receive over 18 million dollars from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). In this respect, Deputy Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Iurie Usurelu and IFAD President Gilbert Houngbo on 11 April signed a financing agreement on implementation of Rural Resilience project, which provides for the agricultural sector’s development.  

According to the press service of the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry (MAIE), the budget of IFAD’s assistance stands at 18.2 million dollars in crediting sources, 500,000 dollars as grant and five million dollars in additional grant through the IFAD Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme.   

The assistance will create opportunities for facilitating access to irrigation, enhancing the productivity of farmlands and developing business, especially oriented towards value added products.  

At the event, the country manager of IFAD programmes, Tarek Kotb, said that the agriculture and business sector represented the engine of growth and poverty reduction in Moldova. “By consolidating the resistance to climate changes, improving economic opportunities and development of human abilities, IFAD tends to enhance the well-being of the rural population and diminish its poverty,” Tarek Kotb noted.   

For his part, Iurie Usurelu assured that “the sources provided by IFAD would be used efficiently and would be aimed at ensuring tangible results, so that young farmers and women from the agricultural business fully use the opportunities offered by IFAD’s financial instruments.”  

Starting from 2000, IFAD has provided Moldova with about 109 million dollars – from which over 134,000 people benefited.   

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor A. Raileanu)